While we may all be clinging to the last bits of summer and hoping it stays around longer, the reality is that colder months are fast approaching. Each year around this time, many homeowners start the process of weatherizing and preparing their homes for the fall and winter months. During these colder times, proper heat is a necessity to stay comfortable within the home. While many homes rely solely on gas or electric heat through their furnaces, many homeowners supplement or even fully rely on heat from fireplaces.
Depending on the type of fireplace, this may require a lot of work. Many homes with traditional wood-burning fireplaces certainly fall into this category. These homeowners certainly are already thinking about ordering enough wood for the winter, or even splitting it themselves if they’re truly ambitious. The process of preparation is strenuous and stressful for wood-burning fireplace owners. Even if wood is delivered to your door, it most often requires stacking into storage for the cold months ahead. Stacking the wood not only requires a lot of work, it can take up a lot of valuable space in a garage or shed, and if piled outside your home can be a home for mice, rats and other pests.
Even after the wood is prepared, the work isn’t done. Wood-burning fireplaces require a full winter’s worth of hauling the wood and cleaning ash and soot from the fireplace on a regular basis. And don’t forget about cleaning your chimney to prevent fires!
From an efficiency standpoint, open wood-burning fireplaces also often let in a lot of cold drafts and let out heat through the flue. When it is closed, a fireplace still leaks warm air out of your home in the winter time. Surprisingly, even when lit, many fireplaces actually leak more heat than they create. This is why you can feel cold drafts when you step away from the warmth created by the fire. But, many people still love the beauty and ambiance a fireplace provides.
Fortunately, there’s a great alternative to wood-burning fireplaces—gas fireplace inserts. Fireplace inserts provide more warmth, and all the beauty of a wood-burning fireplace with little (or none) of the hassle and work. Lighting these gas inserts is literally as easy as flipping a switch. At BelRed, our Heat & Glo gas inserts use natural gas or propane, which eliminates all hassle of hauling wood and manually starting a fire each time you need heat. Even when the power is out, these gas fireplace inserts still light at the touch of a button, providing peace of mind when it comes to wondering where your heat is going to come from in an outage.
Beautiful custom surrounds are available with these Heat & Glo inserts and can fit most masonry fireplaces. Owners who have installed these fireplace units love the remote that controls flame size and heat output—making comfort and beauty management a breeze. Speaking of breeze, gas fireplace inserts all but eliminate drafts from leaky flues, making sure heat stays in your home and cold air stays out. These fireplaces are direct vent, meaning they will not alter the quality of indoor room air; the sealed combustion chamber draws in fresh air from outdoors and vents back outside.
If you are currently struggling with the annual preparation and hard work that comes along with wood-burning fireplaces, the time is perfect to think about having a gas insert installed. Even though most days are still warm outside, the cold is fast approaching. By installing a fireplace insert now, you’ll be ready to meet the winter cold with the push of a button. Contact BelRed today to arrange a FREE no-obligation consultation and find out if one of our Heat & Glo inserts is right for your home.
